talesofbastionfandomcom-20200213-history
William Knob
Independent Necromancer/Troubleshooter/Graduate Student Date of Birth: 26 of Auravath (Age 21) Male Human Appearance: '''William Knob is a scrawny young man, possessed of a fairly normal appearance. He has brown, matted hair, and appears fairly well-groomed. He has a pointed nose, and is in fact rather unremarkable in appearance. William acts with purpose, but tries not to be in the spotlight of any situation, lest he attract attention. He usually speaks and converses in a professional attitude. He never did much like the robes typically used by the mage community, nor does he have a particular fancy to anything impractical. He usually tries to keep a low profile, dressing almost identically to a well-off peasant, or a low-ranking merchant. '''Personality: '''Unlike the majority of Necromancers, William would rather live in peace with a pet skeledog or something than gain wealth or power through his abilities. He is primarily motivated by the desire to improve himself, knowing that, while his powers are dark in nature, disavowing them would be a grievous waste of potential. He is also unfortunately possessed of the belief that he's quite a bit wittier than he actually is. '''History: '''William Knob was born in a faraway, unimportant village in the Free States to Maria and Albert Knob, who were, respectively, a priestess and a gravedigger. Maria Knob, the priestess, eventually learned that William had some odd sorcerous abilities manifested at a young age, believed to have resulted from a necromantic dweomer that persisted on his father from the graveyard itself. He received education from the local church, and learned to use his powers in secret. William is a graduate of the Academy of Varsten, a small university in a city not far from his hometown. As a result of this education and independent study, he just happens to be an expert in Spirit Magic, a field that virtually all young mages and even more experienced ones tend to shy away from due to the difficulties involved with manipulating souls. He has learned many things, from the animation of the undead to spells that tear souls from their bodies. These things do require basic components, most of which he carries a supply of on his person at all times. He has had, however, a certain difficulty obtaining usable amounts of the herb known as Gallia, which does not grow in his homeland and is not sold by normal merchants due to it acting as a very potent ingested poison. Without Gallia, he can use his personal spells, but cannot animate anything. '''The Story so Far..: William was not caught up in the chaos of the Waterfront Siege, but did learn of an unusually precise sniper, calling himself "El Cazador," who was going out of his way to keep the First Regiment disorganized by murdering essentially every leadership figure short of Alric doSturmbhat himself. It was during this time when William first met the artificial man by the name of Colmdran, and the two became fast friends during their search for the assassin. Eventually, William baited "El Cazador" into attacking using the reanimated corpse of a First Regiment Sergeant, and the pair worked together to capture the sniper before he did any further damage. They returned the Elven sniper to the local headquarters of the First Regiment, where it was revealed that "El Cazador" was merely a play on words, his true name was Cazalon, and that he was a rogue member of the Evergreen Sentinels and thus a former compatriot of Maranis's. He and Colmdran parted then, for a short time. That very night, the Library of the Academy of Bastion was destroyed by a rampaging Necromental, created by Red Jack as a distraction to cover up his heist of the Codex Maleficarum. William's room was not at all far away, and he awoke during the night to the cries for help. As one of the few survivors around the area with both the knowledge necessary and enough wits about him to do so, he identified the creature and its weaknesses, including fire and enervation, to remove the uprooted souls animating the thing and destroy the bodies it picks up. Colmdran also moved to stop the thing, using his immense strength to hold it and prevent it from growing any larger while William used his magical strength to put the spirits animating it to rest one by one. Unfortunately, while they did weaken the thing quite a bit, it soon escaped Colmdran's grasp and continued its rampage, though the First Regiment's volley of naptha-coated arrows did wonders to slow its progress. It was finally defeated when the forces arrayed against it managed to trap it under a portcullis until the fire finally brought it down. Unfortunately, Bastion was not allowed to rest after that disaster, as only a few hours passed before the Waterfront was once more besieged... ...this time by Pirates, rather than the Guard. William and Colmdran once more jumped into the fray, managing to completely wipe out one of the parties of invaders before becoming too injured to fight effectively. William actually used a nearby wheelbarrow to store the bodies and (expensive) muskets in a hidden location nearby. The muskets would later be sold offscreen for heavy profit, and that profit would finance black market purchases of Gallia to reanimate the Pirate corpses as ghouls, which would see significant use later on. This episode is also worth noting as William saw the dramatic performance of the "Shadow King of Bastion" as he used the powers of the Codex Maleficarum to wipe out the entire Pirate Fleet in seconds. William's actions during the Opening Night Masquerade at the Opera House were not notable, but the Ghouls he had placed upon the rooftops of the surrounding buildings to spy upon the events of the night witnessed both the Marquise Falaeth's midnight rendezvous with Turel Meresin and the attack upon Sentinel Eyolis by three members of the Shadow Court afterward, in addition to managing to overhear snippets of conversation connecting the three to Turel. Under William's orders, the Ghouls should have helped the Sentinel, but a technicality allowed them to remain put as an act of rebellion against their master. William identified this when he recieved the report, noting that the attackers must have been spirits of some kind and concluding that this "Night Raven," whomever he was, must be either a Demon himself or a Blood Mage. The description the ghouls gave also unmistakably identified Elizabeth Falaeth as the other individual present on the rooftop, making her an obvious lead. The next day, William encountered Maranis outside Falaeth Manor, resulting in an incredibly awkward conversation that proved rather enlightening as the two compared notes. After a bit of small talk, William and Maranis confronted Elizabeth with their combined information, causing her to reveal that she did indeed meet Turel Meresin on the rooftop that night, but was completely unaware of the attack afterward. Before any more conversation could happen, though, Captain Stray and Raisa arrived, preventing Maranis and William from gaining any further information. Advantages: (37 spent) Intelligence I (Low Social, Low Utility) 2 - William is a fair bit smarter than your average bear, and probably a better conversationalist, too. Expert(Arcane Lore) III (Low Utility) 2 - William Knob, even for a mage, is highly knowledgable about matters of the Arcane. While he is (to his great frustration) seemingly completely inept at all legal schools of magic aside from Necromancy, his grasp of the theories behind them and their capabilities is excellent. He even has (somewhat limited, but still very useful) knowledge of the Nether and its workings, though he's responsible enough not to play around with Blood Magic regardless of temptation. Education II (Low Utility) 2 - William is a graduate of the Academy of Varsten in the Free States, and as such is well-versed in the usual studies of rhetoric, language, mathematics, and the other liberal arts. While the school is perhaps not as famous as the University of Bastion or University of Vorarl, it still holds itself to a high standard of excellence. Flight (All Ranges, Mid Utility, High Travel, Control Range) 9 - William has mastered an uncommon spell that he found described in the journal of Nule Unvitas, temporarily "borrowing" the soul of a bird or other flying creature to move that trait to the caster. As such, William is more than capable of moving through the air as he pleases. Necromancy III (All ranges, Mid Utility) 15 - William is a prodigy when it comes to the school of Necromancy, though he generally keeps this fact fairly quiet. While useful and powerful, it is also feared and distrusted, so it's easier to just refer to himself as a mage and let other people come to their own conclusions about exactly what type. However, he's proven himself powerful enough to instantly kill people when enraged, and raise powerful undead such as Ghouls when he needs to. Charm I (Mid Social) 2 - William isn't exactly an expert socialite like some in Bastion could claim to be, and he could hardly be described as charismatic or intimidating, but there's something about him that just seems earnest and good, like he's always in control and doing what he honestly believes is the right thing to do. He's usually civil even when it seems out of place, and just seems inherently reasonable and trustworthy. Marksman I (Mid and Long Range) 2 - It's probably not something that one would expect of him, but William has surprisingly good aim at range. He also happens to carry a high-quality concealed pistol in his coat, stolen from one of the Pirates that attacked during the siege. On that occasional foe where magic just isn't amazingly effective, it could be a lifesaver. Related Story Elements: Necromancy, Undead, Gallia,